Horoscopes | Week of November 26-December 2, 2012

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Slippery emotional responses (yours and/or someone else's) may tempt you with the possibility of a moderating retreat from the pretty obvious (and obviously irreversible) direction things have been headed. Maybe one more good conversation and a renewed inclination to reinterpret the storyline from another perspective (theirs, perhaps) will be enough to dam this torrent of churning, rushing, forward flow? Fat chance, Aries. Compromises made now, due to sincere-enough-sounding words or the proverbial turning-over-a-new-leaf in situations requiring a whole lot more than that to prove ultimately sustainable, could come back to bite you in the ass. Just because there's suddenly an easier communicative dynamic, that fact doesn't alter the longer history of unresolved differences which cannot be neatly tied up in a bow. Even if you end up cathartically mending fences, it will not happen overnight—and you remain quite far (i.e., several steps away still) from that miraculous moment. What's hard to swallow: You may be attaining a peaceful leveling-off that permits more pleasant interactivity, yet the formidable knottiness persists.

 

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Not the time to fudge an interpersonal-integrity question, Taurus, just to momentarily ease your way in what could be written off (albeit with a slightly self-deceiving inflection) as an unrelated case of 'just taking care of practical business'. Sorry if that isn't the answer you'd like to hear, but none of us are presently getting away with much relative ease when confronted by potential disagreement. Falsely believing you might slip through a crack in the mutual commitment to a certain unflinching high-mindedness, gaining yourself some shiny trinket at the probable expense of fairer allocation, will haunt you later—if not in an actual all-out war of morals, then in a slow guilt-driven deterioration of the trust between you. On the other hand, what you may sacrifice in immediate personal gain by instead offering up an outward exposition on the question and inviting possible contention to the bargaining table (which necessarily circumvents anything that would qualify as 'easy'), you'll more than gain back in huge stores of trustworthiness. Anybody worth keeping around in this capacity will value trust over being supposedly 'spared the headache'.

 

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Yet again, unfortunately (or, in another sense, not), it isn't just about what you want out of the situation. Gosh darn it, Gemini, those 'extenuating hand-tying circumstances' keep you locked into a push-pull with inescapable individuals, ensnaring entities and/or unalterable agreements in which your only productive possibility involves ongoing step-by-step maneuvers that will eventually work you into a different situation. But the good news is, thanks to this week's lunar eclipse in your sign, you're beginning to really and authentically feel the simultaneous existence of another storyline that will continue to grow in importance… all while that main entangling narrative, which has dominated headlines for way too long, starts to decrease in its centrality (only, of course, as a direct factor of the continuing effort you put in to achieve just that) over time. And though this handing-off of the baton is necessarily a very gradual process, it will happen—as long as you continue reminding yourself that both tales are concurrently true. This is exactly the sort of juggling act that you versatile Geminis are built for. Just be sure to never forget the actuality of one whenever you're too deeply involved in the developments of the other, and vice versa, and so forth…

 

CANCER (June 21-July 22): This is hardly the optimal time to skulk slyly away, rescuing yourself from the vulnerability that this situation clearly requires, though the possibility to do so may appear more convenient than ever. And no attempting to blandly escape notice either, Cancer, as if staying as docile and acquiescent as possible will deliver you from the heightened stakes of this underlying standoff (which may or may not have yet come to an unmistakable head). An absence of any action which might legitimately demonstrate you claiming your own agency is, in effect, a surrender of control… yet still is no less a self-assertion, though what you're asserting is a passing-of-the-buck of responsibility. Nobody else can be blamed if you aren't getting what you want from your present relationship (or lack thereof). You must clearly and repeatedly state what will make you happiest—and not just romantically speaking, but in any situation where someone's bombastic 'I'-statements could easily drown out your voicing of very certain specific proclivities—or you should expect not to be especially happy, since you've taken no step allowing others to support your happiness. I say all this not to scold you: In fact, at this moment, Venus and Mars are conspiring to fulfill these very desires, as long as you're willing and able to properly solicit.

 

LEO (July 23-August 22): What's good for the goose ain't necessarily grand for the gander, now, is it, Leo? Your wisest instruction manual for how to continue cementing a healthful system of personal habits is a fairly subjective one, etched in relative stone inside your heart. And therefore, you'd better beware of even the most well-intended 'words of wisdom' from others in your community about alternatives to how you might better manage your day-to-day routine—particularly because their suggestions may sound so very appealing in their too-good-to-be-true simplicity, you may start to wonder if you've been making things too hard on yourself. You have not been 'making things hard', by the way: They actually are hard. Your own unique challenges are presently demanding to be met with persistent effort, not quick-fixes or shortcuts. Furthermore, each of us has facets in life that come more and less easily to us. So while the dear-hearted advice-giver may indeed derive smooth and/or speedy results from the methods they are now recommending to you, that doesn't mean you will have the similar experience. (Meanwhile, in other areas, you are at such a decided advantage, it almost doesn't seem fair.) Your inner voice knows exactly what you need to do; don't let outside voices talk you into a different direction.

 

VIRGO (August 23-September 22): I'm not sure you should continue presuming that delicious opportunity for pleasurable interpersonal connection—you know, Virgo, the one that's been lingering right in front of your face for a little while now—will exist as a possibility for much longer, unless you take some initiatory step towards it pretty damn soon. I understand you've got plenty of preoccupying professional success to reel in and tinker with (as well as the likely fear that, if you take your eye off that ball for more than a second, you're risking your entire trajectory of ambitions), but, I'm sorry, can't you tackle more than one important life-aspect at the same time? This invitation to speak up for desire seems too awesomely promising to pass up, which is why I'm sort of bullying you into going for it. Or maybe you're unconsciously-purposely passing it up, so that, if nothing ultimately pans out, it won't have been an instance of full-on rejection but a mere 'casualty of circumstance'? Letting potential passion peter out without giving it its fair chance? What kind of life-choice is that? If even the thought of going for it is getting you all hot-under-the-collar, there's your clear sign of awesome promise right there.

 

LIBRA (September 23-October 22): Don't waste your breath arguing a calm-and-clear case that articulates why you believe as you do, particularly if it's in response to somebody who adamantly believes otherwise. Despite your obvious aptitude for such articulations, Libra, you'd actually be diluting the fervor behind your belief by fitting it into the constraints of reason. The real truth is that you feel strongly on this matter (as opposed to merely thinking a certain way about it)… and those strong feelings, unjustified and unapologized-for, serve to undergird the very purposefulness with which you live your life in relevant contexts. Yes, I agree you ought to defend such fundamental beliefs to the death—because this really is a question of survival for this state of emotional independence you've sought to declare—but not through hand-to-hand ideological warfare. You simply need to fortify the castle walls, in order to keep manipulative saboteurs and intrusive invaders from getting too close to the crown jewels. Forget about convincing them they're wrong. Instead, continue solidifying your confidence that you're right. Because we're talking psychological realities here, you don't need a bunch of objective supporting data to back up yours. It's your domain, wholly and totally, and you get to decide what rules the roost… as long as you're adequately taking care of all basic material concerns.

 

SCORPIO (October 23-November 21): Advantage still in your court (thanks so much, Venus!)… and, at the same time, onus-of-duty still resting on your integrity-bearing shoulders (you're welcome, Saturn!). Despite any near-irresistible allure, then, Scorpio, you ought not to go along with hasty slides into immediately-appealing intimacies—sexually, financially, emotionally, psychically—without forcing that very unromantic, anti-idealistic, sobering-reality-check conversation about crucial determining details which, admittedly, just might spoil the 'easy' fun. On one level or another, you probably know this ain't as easy as y'all might wish it to be… and to pretend otherwise is to flirt with a later consequence you'll experience as even less easy (i.e., way more painful than it ever had to be) than the comparatively minor buzzkill interruption demanded of you now. Let's be frank: You don't do casual all that well. So if you're under some belief that this situation has presented itself as an opportunity to shrug off your innate way-of-being and perform an easy-breezy devil-may-care casualness (which is ultimately nothing more than a pretending act that does disservice to your genuine, if not inconvenient, emotional reality), I think you may be deluding yourself.

 

SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21): Somebody's bright-and-cheery encouragements to 'chill out' or 'let it go' or 'stop taking [x] so seriously' are obviously meant with the most supportive intentions… and yet, Sagittarius, I urge you to be very suspicious about following their advice. Go on and accept the vibes of support, sure, but ignore the actual instructions. They don't know what they're talking about insofar as the specific details of your life are concerned. You do have items to take seriously, and naturally they'll weigh on you a bit. Trying to slither away from these necessary contemplations, according to somewhat impersonal suggestions purported to suit one individual's life-circumstances as well as another, is a bit like turning a blind eye to the main action because some hottie walks by selling cotton candy and, caught up in the distraction, you miss a pivotal game-play. What you can, however, rely on your well-meaning partners and pals for is basic companionship—as long as you aren't being urged to be in a different headspace than you already are. Being asked or expected to ignore a basic component of your present situation is not helpful.

 

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19): Pretty much nothing can be incidentally written off as 'inconsequential' at this point, Capricorn, since an almost laughably potent thread of interconnectedness is running through your life these days. You cannot run and hide from the ever-throbbing penetration of power through your etheric bloodstream. To disown it is to attract powerful pests and problem-children who congregate around you in an intrusive fashion until you must lash out with properly boundary-restoring assertions (and then you come off like the asshole). To flauntingly lord it around town is to heartlessly play with the tender spirits of all those who are flocking because they desire something in you they imagine to lack in themselves… hurting their feelings by first accepting their adoration only as far as it feeds your ego, then turning them down flat as if you hadn't a clue what was going on a moment earlier. To brandish it wholly but with dignity, the ideal 'middle-way', means you use it to bring out the best in everybody around you: You so believably convince them of their goodness, yours becomes a self-evident emanation, and everybody's good honor flares up in sympathetic shine. Your choices in every moment matter—but you're unable to choose 'without an impact'.

 

AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18): As much fun as FUN sounds right about now, Aquarius, you and I both know that the undeniable weight of professional and/or public-world obligation continues to loom large. There simply isn't a lot of leeway for goof-offs at the present moment, is there? Yet, we've got to put it into perspective, too: This sense of 'obligation' is merely the mirrored flip-side to the success of having achieved this level of mastery out there on the proverbial stage, which is something you've worked hard for and, therefore, obviously deserve. Just because it's weighing a bit heavier for a spell, that doesn't overturn the fact that you actually want this. (You do want this, don't you? If not, then you'd damn well better plan on spending 2013 figuring a path off this unrewarding hamster-wheel.) In the meantime, the seductive hankering for a fun-filled deliverance from said weightiness must be properly acknowledged and honored and made room for—yet only in carefully structured and measured amounts. Enough to quench the thirst, sure, but not in compulsive overdoses meant to obliterate your unceasing awareness of what still must be accomplished… why? so you can be inarguably proud of yourself.

 

PISCES (February 19-March 20): Don't be afraid to really and truly go there—all the way there, if necessary, Pisces—to ensure that everybody present is aware of what you believe and what you just won't sign off on with a silently passive free-pass. Though it would sure be a lot more agreeable to quietly take note of the divergence in opinion and adjust your private loyalties accordingly, you'd undoubtedly miss out on an opportunity to impact others' thinking. You needn't assume an explicitly preachy tone to your expressions in order to make such an impact either. (Actually, closely concentrating on simply speaking from your own heart on this matter is less didactic and, thus, far more convincing.) Too often, you Pisceans are unfairly accused of an aimless wishy-washy quality that does a massive disservice to what typically motivates your behavior above all else: an unfaltering compassion for all living beings, which is born from an emotional connection with universality that trumps any convenient statements of ideological superiority. Therefore, it's a no-brainer that you might go head to head with any blowhard who sets forth a commentary which demonstrates clear disrespect to others (i.e., those whose life-experiences this pontificator is, due to his/her heart-limitations, unable to understand). Viewed this way, you're perfectly positioned as a crusader for such compassion… an ideal in great need of brave active defense these days.